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Symphony of Light | Rating | |
| C | |||
| Jack McKinney | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Robotech: Third Generation | Genesis, Battle Cry, Homecoming, Battlehymn, Force of Arms, Doomsday, Southern Cross, Metal Fire, The Final Nightmare, Invid Invasion, Metamorphosis, Symphony of Light, The Devil's Hand, Dark Powers, Death Dance, World Killers, Rubicon, The End of the Circle | ||
Scott and his group of irregulars have managed to reach North America. Now they need to cross the ravaged countryside to reach Reflex Point, the main hive of the Invid, in time to meet up with Admiral Hunter's relief force. In his way are the usual thieves and cutthroats, as well as two ultra-evolved Invid and the Regis herself. Will they manage the feat? And will this force be enough to defeat the aliens once and for all?
All the problems of the previous two books return in this one. The episodic feel, the absolute lack of character growth, obvious and cliched plot points, the mysteries over how they're supplying everything but protoculture all show up. But some of them are even worse; some episodes I could predict almost exactly what would happen. There were the army deserters who regain their courage and sense of duty, and the surprise birthday party given to a teammember who has never had a happy birthday, and reporter whose only loyalty is to the great story, and others.
On the other hand, though, the last quarter of the book - possibly even the last third - is remarkably good. The epic sense of scale is somewhat restored, the fighting is long and energetic, and finally it isn't just guerilla actions. It's not all big overblown battles between mecha, either, which is nice.
Unfortunately, the very end of the story once again tries hard to be mystical and only really succeeds in being mystifying. There are large gaps in the story, questions left unanswered that really should have been. The story does not, alas, wrap up in a tidy package.
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